1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas treating apparatus for effecting a dehumidification treatment, deodorization treatment or a heat exchange treatment on a target gas by causing the gas to pass through an element block, and more particularly to a gas treating apparatus comprising: a treating flow passage 10c having a first opening 10a and a second opening 10b through which the gas passes to be treated; a pair of ducts 11 and 12 for transporting therethrough the treatment-target gas or an element-refreshing gas and respectively having a third opening f1 and a fourth opening f2 opposing to each other across the treating flow passage 10c; and a rotary frame 9 for radially supporting the treating flow passage 10c and unidirectionally rotatable relative to the pair of ducts 11 and 12.
2. Description of the Prior Art
According to a known gas treating apparatus of the above-noted type, as shown in FIG. 8 for example, at the third and fourth openings f1 and f2 respectively of the ducts 11 and 12 adjacently opposing the first and second openings 10a and 10b of the element block 10, there are provided fixed sealing faces 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b formed with slopes so as to extend along an upper peripheral edge and a lower peripheral edge of the rotary frame 9 with respect to its direction of rotation, respectively. During the rotation of the rotary frame 9, these fixed sealing faces 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b of the ducts are constantly maintained in sliding contacts with the curved edges of the first and second openings 10a and 10b of the element block 10 such that the constant sliding contact provides an air-tight sealing between the ducts 11, 12 and the element block 10 (e.g. a Japanese utility model published under Showa No. 60-34991).
With the above construction; however, there occurs a significant frictional wear in the sliding contact portions of the ducts and block. Further, in order to obtain a good air-tightness, the curved first and second openings of the element block and the curved fixed sealing faces of the ducts must be formed and assembled with a high precision. For this reason, the prior construction has failed to achieve a desired air-tightness in spite of its manufacturing difficulty.
In addition, generally, the element block need be regularly and frequently exchanged for a new one. However, the block tends to be costly because of the above-described manufacturing precision difficulty of its first and second openings. Thus, if the block has to be exchanged frequently because of such significant frictional wear, this will increase the running costs of the treating system.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a gas treating apparatus which provides a superior air-tightness and yet is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, assemble and run, the object being accomplished by providing the rotary frame with a novel and effective air-tight construction with respect to its rotational direction.